libertarians are correct to value freedom, but they are incorrect for believing that freedom is found in the rights of the individual. there is a higher form of freedom, and that is in conformity with a greater whole.

I'm torn on smoking in bars. I get the idea that bars should be able to decide whether to allow smoking or not, but at the same time there's not exactly perfect freedom of movement for people in the industry - a lot of times there aren't comparable-income or comparable-hour jobs available to the people stuck working in the smoke.

I'm weirdly ambivalent about this one. As profoundly as I enjoyed the bounties to be had in the States, there's a part of me that actually thinks that there's something to be said for alcohol not being as cheap and available.

xp: What I meant by my question upthread was "How many bars were there that chose not to allow smoking before the bans?"

OK, I read through most of Kinsella's article. Thanks for linking it, Sanpaku. I'm not as hardcore as him. I'm OK with having some copyright and patent laws. I just think I should be able to photocopy handouts and play DVDs and CDs in class without needing to jump through multiple hoops.

a. public unions *sometimes might not have* the public's welfare in mind w/ their pay and benefit deals and *sometimes* that can be a bad thing.

Not sure why they *should* have "the public welfare" in mind. That's not what unions are for. It's the job of the elected officials dealing with them to keep the public welfare in mind when structuring contracts.

people above who said you're libertarian about guns: are you guys actually anti-regulation? I support gun ownership (and I've always thought this was one of the areas where I was pretty "lol conservative" by ilxor standards), but feel that things like background checks are good for public safety. are you guys really totally hands-off "libertarian" on this?

i feel like the aspect of government that regulates gun ownership is as far as I can tell a left-wing impulse: regulation in the interests of public safety. keeping guns out of the hands of convicted criminals, specifiically.

like it seems to me that it's difficult to argue that gun ownership hasn't had some terrible consequences in countries that allow it, but there's a big question about whether those consequences are sufficient to outweigh an adult's right to own a firearm, and to what extent you can separate a gun culture from gun legislation.

I secretly love fast sports cars and feel the US should use its vast land resources to build racetracks in every county, people would park their fast cars in the 'clubhouse garage' and race them on weekends, however your car is not allowed onto a public highway if it gets under 30mpg, but you can go 110+ mph on the racetrack ^_^

dayo, i will support you if you want to run for office. that's the best.

noodle, i was thinking specifically of conservative take on environmental regulations, but also healthcare. i do realize that cons do legislate in the name of public safety though, often i guess in terms of crime. i dont know really though. feel like reading up on this once i get to the office.